Heisman winner Johnny Manziel refuses to go quietly away from his autograph signing scandal. In his first quarter of the season, he takes a hit, gets up, and appears to tell a Rice player that he won't sign anything for him.

Why yes, YES, I think — based on the reflection in the mirror in the background — the allegedly happily married Robin Thicke is indeed playing a little grab ass with the nice lady in this pic posted to Twitter by Page Six this morning. (Insert your own “Blurred Lines” joke here.) According to Radar Online, it was taken at a post-VMAs party. Meanwhile, Thicke is vacationing with his wife. I bet that’s going well.

VIA: If you don’t know the original LT, you’ll get to know him in Showtime’s documentary titled “Life and Times” airing September 20 on Showtime. The documentary will chronicle Lawrence Taylor’s football career, headlined by his epic rise to fame as the best linebacker to ever play the game, followed by his epic downfall as a result of drug addiction. Looks like we’ll see a shot at redemption too that will make for some intense stuff.Here’s another trailer to get you even more excited.

The bro-iest bros that ever bro’d just won an award for their bro-iness. Props to the Laker Bros for winning LA Weekly’s “Meme of the Year” award, and for making a bro-ey thank you video to celebrate. Keep on bro-ing, brosephs!

Since Washington and Colorado became the first states to legalize the sale and possession of marijuana in November, there has been lots of speculation regarding the federal response to the new laws. The Department of Justice has always taken a hard line stance against marijuana, including the legal medical marijuana industry. But, a glimmer of hope emerged not long after the initiatives passed, when President Barack Obama said the federal government had “bigger fish to fry” than pursue legalized marijuana. As it turns out, Obama has stuck to his word.On Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder informed governors of Washington and Colorado that the Department of Justice would allow the states to implement all aspects of their respective initiatives. According to one Justice Department spokesperson, the DOJ is taking a “trust and verify approach” to both states, and their approach to regulation. In addition, the DOJ outlined eight priorities for federal prosecutors in both states:the distribution of marijuana to minors;revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels;the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states;state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuanadrugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use;growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands;preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property.In other words, the Feds are letting Washingtonians and Coloradans (is that what they’re called? I don’t know) do their thing, as long they don’t catch you doing anything stupid, like transporting legal Evergreen State bud to Oregon and showing it off to all your poor friends who don’t have legalized weed.

VIA: Designed to provide a protective suit for LeBron James' unique style of play, the Nike LeBron 11 is officially introduced today. It's James' lightest signature shoe to date, while offering the protective feel, responsiveness and containment his game requires.The number 11 is symbolic of new beginnings and is a step beyond a celebrated tenure. LeBron enters his 11th year in the league with two gold medals, two championship rings and four MVP trophies.With LeBron consistently highlighting the need for a lock down fit, designers aimed to build on the strengths of his game and provide protection for his force without hindering his on-court precision. Built from the inside out, the LeBron 11 is the lightest and lowest LeBron signature model ever, tipping the scales at 14.5 ounces in a men's size 9.The upper features revolutionary Nike Hyperposite technology for lightweight lockdown, while taking protection, containment and responsiveness to a new level. Hyperfuse construction and Dynamic Flywire bring natural motion to James' game.The LeBron 11 is deconstructed to get James' foot much lower to the ground so he can feel the court, while enhancing cushioning via full-length Lunarlon and Nike Zoom, a combination featured for the first time in a LeBron signature shoe.DESIGN DUALITY:The duality of the number 11 is the main graphic design inspiration for the LeBron 11 – it looks identical upside down as it does right side up. The graphic design on the LeBron 11 also plays into the duality of the shoe and features ambigrams throughout including:The graphic on the inner tongue of the shoe spells out the number six while further highlighting the Roman numeral XI.The sock liner graphic reads “LeBron” but when flipped upside down reads “James".A closer look at the Swoosh on the shoe reveals a pattern inspired by modern chain mail in which the initials “LJ” make up the links and repeat at graduating weights.THE STORY OF DUALITY:Nike Basketball designers successfully channel the duality of James’s play and persona to tell the story via various LeBron 11 colorways.LEBRON 11 KING’S PRIDE:James plays with fearlessness, determination and the heart of a lion. The King’s Pride colorway draws inspiration from the lion - its dark loden upper color and the floral print on the collar lining reflect the pride of the wildlife.James was impressed by the Terracotta Warrior Exhibition, which he visited when he was in Xi’An, China, in 2011. The exhibit, plus James’s playing style - which reflects a warrior's spirit of grit, confidence, hard work and determination - inspired the Terracotta Warrior colorway.The design of the shoe is inspired by the Terracotta Warriors as we see them today -- in neutral stone colors along with pop colors of purple/teal/red to represent how they were originally painted. The graphic texture on the upper articulates the linked, plated armor that the warriors wore. The special lining shank design graphic is drawn from the style of Bronze Age art, the era in which the Terracotta Warriors were made.The LeBron 11King’s Pride will be available on October 12 globally. The LeBron 11 Terracotta Warrior will be available on October 1 in Greater China, and on November 27 in North America and the rest of the world.

VIA: WASHINGTON -- Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) on Wednesday morning announced an ambitious plan to reform the criminal justice system, promising to make it his focus if he wins a U.S. Senate seat in October."One of the biggest wastes of taxpayer dollars in our society today can be found in a criminal justice system in serious need in reform," Booker writes in a report released Wednesday. "As mayor of Newark, I have watched as my police arrest, re-arrest, and then re-arrest again, sending the same person for another trip through a revolving door system that not only largely fails to rehabilitate, but too often makes reoffending commonplace and most definitely is not helping to make our communities safer.""The stakes are high," he continued. "The issue of mass incarceration implicates the safety of our communities, billions of taxpayer dollars, and the health and cohesion of our families. Our next steps will determine whether our criminal justice system remains a vehicle for rigid punishment and waste, or becomes a springboard for rehabilitation, opportunity, and hope."Booker is running for the New Jersey Senate seat vacated by the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). He will face off against Republican Steve Lonegan, a conservative former mayor of Bogota, N.J, in the Oct. 16 special election.Booker was scheduled to give a speech outlining his plans for criminal justice reform on Wednesday morning at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Jersey City, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke in 1968, just before his murder in Memphis. Wednesday also marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, where King gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech.Some of the reforms Booker is advocating:Step up the national conversation on decriminalizing marijuana.

Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenders.

Eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine.

Increase federal funding for drug and community courts that divert low-level drug offenders from prison.

Work to end the use of private prisons.

Help inmates and their families maintain functional relationships, by making phone calls financially accessible, providing domestic abuse and counseling classes and working to incarcerate inmates in facilities as close to their families as possible.

Increase grant funding for the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services, which is designed to assist law enforcement agencies in implementing community-based policing.

While in Congress, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) made criminal justice reform his defining cause. But since his retirement in 2012, no other senator has taken up the mantle, though some occasionally work on the issue.Booker's push comes as a bipartisan consensus appears to be emerging that the criminal justice system is in need of serious reform.U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently called for "sweeping, systemic changes" to the judicial system and announced that the Obama administration would try to curb long, mandatory prison terms for nonviolent drug offenders.That same day, a judge ruled on the New York Police Department's use of stop-and-frisk tactics, saying they violated the rights of minorities.Newark also has a stop-and-frisk program. This month, Booker worked with the local American Civil Liberties Union to open Newark's stop-and-frisk data to the public, promising to release monthly incident reports detailing the race, gender and age of everyone stopped, along with data on whether force was used and arrests were made.“Stop-and-frisk is an intrusive practice that should be used carefully and only when there is reasonable suspicion of a crime,” Udi Ofer, executive director of the New Jersey ACLU, said at the time. “This data offers an important look at who is being stopped and frisked in our community and why.”As mayor, Booker worked with the conservative Manhattan Institute to develop an initiative to help prisoners successfully reenter society after their terms are up. According to a 2011 report in the Economist, since Booker's reentry program began in 2008, "60% of those who took part in it have managed to find work. Only 10% have reoffended."

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The following is a video clip of WWE Diva's Champion AJ Lee and her incredible promo on the WWE Diva's division from this week's episode of Monday Night Raw. WWE is heralding her promo as a "pipe bombshell", and obvious play off CM Punk's infamous "pipe bomb" worked shoot from 2011.